Managing network connections for processing network resources

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for the generation and management of content requests generated by client computing devices are provided. A client computing device initiates a browse session with a content provider by establishing a remote browse session between the client computing device and a network computing provider. The network computing provider can utilize profile information corresponding to the content provider to determine a number of concurrent network connections to establish with a content provider. The network computing provider and the client computing device exchange browse session state data and client interaction data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/402,624, entitled MANAGING NETWORK CONNECTIONS FOR PROCESSING NETWORKRESOURCES, and filed on Feb. 22, 2012, the entirety of which isincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Generally described, computing devices and communication networks can beutilized to exchange information. In a common application, a computingdevice can request content from another computing device via thecommunication network. For example, a user at a personal computingdevice can utilize a software browser application, typically referred toas a browser software application, to request a Web page from a servercomputing device via the Internet. In such embodiments, the usercomputing device can be referred to as a client computing device and theserver computing device can be referred to as a content provider.

With reference to an illustrative example, a requested Web page, ororiginal content, may be associated with a number of additionalresources, such as images or videos, that are to be displayed with theWeb page. In one specific embodiment, the additional resources of theWeb page are identified by a number of embedded resource identifiers,such as uniform resource locators (“URLs”). In turn, software on theclient computing devices, such as a browser software application,typically processes embedded resource identifiers to generate requestsfor the content. Accordingly, in order to satisfy a content request, oneor more content providers will generally provide client computingdevices data associated with the Web page as well as the data associatedwith the embedded resources.

Once the client computing device obtains the Web page and associatedadditional resources, the content may be processed in a number of stagesby the software browser application or other client computing deviceinterface. For example, and with reference to the above illustration,the software browser application may parse the Web page to processvarious HTML layout information and references to associated resources,may identify and process Cascading Style Sheets (“CSS”) information, mayprocess and instantiate various Javascript code associated with the Webpage, may construct a native object model to represent one or morecomponents of the Web page, and may calculate various layout and displayproperties of the processed content for presentation to a user.

Generally described, most networking protocols utilized by browsersoftware applications on a client computing device limit the number ofconnections that can be established between the client computing deviceand a domain associated with a content provider. For example, anillustrative networking protocol can limit a browser on a clientcomputing device to open and maintain no more than eight concurrentconnections with a domain. However, some network resources can requireup to 80 or more connections to request and receive all associatedcontent. Accordingly, limitations to the number of concurrentconnections can create latencies in the request and processing ofcontent associated with requested resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of a content delivery environmentincluding a number of client computing devices, content provider, acontent delivery network service provider, and a network computingprovider;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the generation and processing of a new browse sessionrequest from a client computing device to a network computing provider;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the generation and processing of a request for a networkresource from a network computing provider to a content provider;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the generation and processing of one or more requestscorresponding to one or more embedded resources from a network computingprovider to a content provider and content delivery network;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the generation and processing of browse session data anduser interaction data between a network computing provider and clientcomputing device;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the generation and processing of an additional new browsesession request from a client computing device to a network computingprovider;

FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting illustrative browser content processingactions as a series of processing subsystems;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrative of a new browse session routineimplemented by network computing provider;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrative of a client new browse sessioninteraction routine implemented by a client computing device; and

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrative of a process user interactionroutine implemented by a client computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally described, the present disclosure is directed to thegeneration and management of content requests generated by clientcomputing devices. Specifically, aspects of the disclosure will bedescribed with regard to the processing of requests for browse sessionsby a client computing device with a content provider. The processing ofthe content requests can include a determination of an appropriate ofnumber of concurrent connections that should be established with acontent provider based on profile information associated with therequested network resource. Illustratively, a browse session can beconsidered as the exchange of information between a browser softwareapplication on a client computing device and one or computing devicesvia a communication network. A browse session can be defined in termstime-based criteria, user activity (e.g., opening and closing a browserapplication, inputted criteria, and the like).

In one embodiment, a remote browse session can be established betweenthe client computing device, a network computing provider, and a numberof content providers. Illustratively, the network computing providerobtains requests for network resources from the client computing devicesand processes the received network resources on a browser applicationmaintained by the network computing device. Illustratively, one networkresource can correspond to a Web page to be accessed by a user.Additionally, additional network resources can correspond to the contentincluded in, or referenced by, the Web page resource. For example, thecontent can include, but is not limited to, images, audio files, videofiles, text, documents, and the like.

Based on profile information maintained for one or more networkresources, the network computing device can establish a number ofconcurrent connections with the content provider. The number ofconnections can correspond to a minimum number of network connectionsthat should be established, a maximum number of network connections thatshould be established or an optimal number of network connections thatshould be established. The profile information may be dynamic in naturetaking into consideration the makeup of the requested content (e.g.,embedded content), historical access information and current networkconnectivity metrics. Additionally, the profile information can includeoptimization information that can establish a priority of the networkresources that will be requested from the content provider. Theestablished network connections can be utilized to prioritize and obtaincontent from the content provider. The remote browse session between theclient computing device and the network computing provider can then beutilized for the transmission of browse session state data and clientinteraction data between the client computing device and the networkcomputing provider.

Although aspects of the embodiments described in the disclosure willfocus, for the purpose of illustration, on the management of a remotebrowse session, one skilled in the art will appreciate that thetechniques disclosed herein may be applied to any number of softwareprocesses or applications. Additionally, one or more aspects of thepresent disclosure may be implemented without requiring the generationor management of a remote browse session. Further, although variousaspects of the disclosure will be described with regard to illustrativeexamples and embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe disclosed embodiments and examples should not be construed aslimiting.

With reference to an illustrative example, a user may cause a clientcomputing device to load a software browser application (henceforthreferred to as a “browser”) for accessing content provided by one ormore content providers. Illustratively, the accessed content may includea collection of one or more network resources (e.g., a Web page) andembedded resources such as images, video, audio, text, executable code,and other resources. In one embodiment, the browser may have a contentdisplay area or pane for displaying the accessed network content inaddition to one or more local interface components, such as toolbars,menus, buttons, or other user interface controls. Local interfacecomponents may be managed and controlled by the software browserapplication or any other process executing or implemented locally at theclient computing device. Illustratively, managing user interfacecontrols locally may allow for a responsive user interface, asinteractions by the user are processed locally on the client computingdevice.

Subsequent to the browser being loaded, a user or automated browserprocess may cause the client computing device to transmit a request toaccess content from a content provider. In one embodiment, the requestfor the content can correspond to establishing a browse session with anetwork computing provider across a private or public network.Illustratively, the browse session request may include informationidentifying one or more sources for the requested content. Theidentifiers can be in the form of network addresses of networkresources, such as a Web site or other network accessible piece ofcontent. For example, the user may select or enter a URL, (e.g.,http://www.xyzwebsite.com) into a browser window, causing the clientcomputing device to transmit a request for a new browse session to thenetwork computing provider, including the selected URL. The address orlocation of a network computing provider capable to service the browsesession request may be hardcoded into the browser, may be configurableby the user, may be obtained from a network address service, or may bedetermined in any other way. Additionally, in accordance withtraditional communication protocols, the browse session request toaccess content can be associated with default or generic user agentidentification information that can specify the type of client computingdevice, the type of browser process and other attributes related to therequesting client computing device.

In an illustrative embodiment, responsive to the browse session requestreceived from the client computing device, the network computingprovider obtains profile information corresponding to the requestednetwork resources. In one aspect, the profile information specifies thenumber of concurrent network connections that should be maintainedbetween the network computing provider and a domain associated with acontent provider. Additionally, the profile information can specifyoptimization information that prioritizes the requested networkresources. Illustratively, the optimization information can correspondto resources based on a perceived importance to the Web page resource, arelative comparison of an amount of time required to download aresource, and the like.

Thereafter, using the profile information, the network computingprovider may instantiate or cause to have instantiated one or morecomputing components associated with the network computing provider thatwill host a browser software application. For example, the networkcomputing provider can instantiate, or cause to have instantiated, oneor more instances of a virtual machine that includes a software browserapplication capable of requesting resources from a communicationnetwork. Illustratively, in some situations, one or more devicesassociated with the network computing provider may be located in a datacenter or other robustly networked computing environment, and, ascompared to the client computing device, may experience relativelylittle latency or delay when obtaining network resources.

Using the instantiated network computing components and establishedconcurrent network connections, the network computing provider mayrequest the identified network resource(s) from one or more contentproviders, a content delivery network, or a local or associated cachecomponent. For example, the browser software application on theinstantiated network computing component can process a primary networkresource and then generate additional content requests for contentidentified in one or more embedded resource identifiers (e.g. pictures,video files, etc.). Illustratively, in the case of other, non-browser,applications, network resources, or content may include any file type orformat known in the art and supported by the specific softwareapplication.

Having obtained the requested content or modified requested content(e.g., the requested network resource and embedded resources), thenetwork computing provider may identify a remote session browsingconfiguration specifying a remote session communication protocol for usein transmitting the requested content, user interaction data,intermediate processing results, and other information between thebrowser being executed on the client computing device and the browserbeing executed at the instantiated network computing component on thecomputing and storage provider. The information exchanged between thebrowser on the instantiated network computing component and the browseron the client computing device can be generally referred to as “browsersession information.”

In addition to specifying a remote session communication protocol fortransmitting information between the client computing device and theinstantiated network computing component, in one embodiment, theidentified remote session browsing configuration may specify that one ormore processing actions to be performed on the requested content are tobe performed at the network computing provider rather than, or inaddition to, at the client computing device. For purposes ofillustration, the processing of network content by a browser may involvevarious processing actions before content can be rendered in anappropriate form on a client computing device. A Web page, for example,may be parsed and processed to process various HTML layout informationand references to associated resources or embedded content such as CSSstyle sheets and Javascript, as well as embedded content objects such asimages, video, audio, etc. Each object or piece of code may be parsedand processed before a representative object model corresponding to theweb page may be constructed and processed further for layout anddisplay. In accordance with the selected remote session browsingconfiguration, the client computing device and the instantiated networkcomputing component may exchange processing results via browser sessioninformation (e.g., state data or display data representing the requestedcontent). Additionally, the network computing component can then updatethe profile information based on observed performance associated withrequesting and processing the resources.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of a networked computingenvironment 100 for the management and processing of content requests.As illustrated in FIG. 1, the networked computing environment 100includes a number of client computing devices 102 (generally referred toas clients) for requesting content and content processing from a contentprovider 104, CDN service provider 106, or network computing provider107. In an illustrative embodiment, the client computing devices 102 cancorresponds to a wide variety of computing devices including personalcomputing devices, laptop computing devices, hand-held computingdevices, terminal computing devices, mobile devices (e.g., mobilephones, tablet computing devices, etc.), wireless devices, variouselectronic devices and appliances and the like. In an illustrativeembodiment, the client computing devices 102 include necessary hardwareand software components for establishing communications over acommunication network 108, such as a wide area network or local areanetwork. For example, the client computing devices 102 may be equippedwith networking equipment and browser software applications thatfacilitate communications via the Internet or an intranet. The clientcomputing devices 102 may have varied local computing resources such ascentral processing units and architectures, memory, mass storage,graphics processing units, communication network availability andbandwidth, etc.

The networked computing environment 100 can also include a contentprovider 104 in communication with the one or more client computingdevices 102 or other service providers (e.g., CDN service provider 106,network computing provider 107, etc.) via the communication network 108.The content provider 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to a logicalassociation of one or more computing devices associated with a contentprovider. Specifically, the content provider 104 can include a webserver component 110 corresponding to one or more server computingdevices for obtaining and processing requests for content (such as Webpages) from the client computing devices 102 or other service providers.The content provider 104 can further include an origin server component112 and associated storage component 114 corresponding to one or morecomputing devices for obtaining and processing requests for networkresources from the CDN service provider. The content provider 104 canstill further include an application server computing device 111, suchas a data streaming server, for processing streaming content requests.One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the contentprovider 104 can be associated with various additional computingresources, such as additional computing devices for administration ofcontent and resources, DNS name servers, and the like. For example,although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the content provider 104 can beassociated with one or more DNS name server components that would beauthoritative to resolve client computing device DNS queriescorresponding to a domain of the content provider.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the networked computing environment100 can further include a CDN service provider 106 in communication withthe one or more client computing devices 102 and other service providersvia the communication network 108. The CDN service provider 106illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to a logical association of one ormore computing devices associated with a CDN service provider.Specifically, the CDN service provider 106 can include a number of Pointof Presence (“POP”) locations 116, 122, 128 that correspond to nodes onthe communication network 108. Each CDN POP 116, 122, 128 includes a DNScomponent 118, 124, 130 made up of a number of DNS server computingdevices for resolving DNS queries from the client computers 102. EachCDN POP 116, 122, 128 also includes a resource cache component 120, 126,132 made up of a number of cache server computing devices for storingresources from content providers and transmitting various requestedresources to various client computers. The DNS components 118, 124, and130 and the resource cache components 120, 126, 132 may further includeadditional software and/or hardware components that facilitatecommunications including, but not limited to, load balancing or loadsharing software/hardware components.

In an illustrative embodiment, the DNS component 118, 124, 130 andresource cache component 120, 126, 132 are considered to be logicallygrouped, regardless of whether the components, or portions of thecomponents, are physically separate. Additionally, although the CDN POPs116, 122, 128 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as logically associated with theCDN service provider 106, the CDN POPs will be geographicallydistributed throughout the communication network 108 in a manner to bestserve various demographics of client computing devices 102.Additionally, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that theCDN service provider 106 can be associated with various additionalcomputing resources, such as additional computing devices foradministration of content and resources, and the like.

With further continued reference to FIG. 1, the networked computingenvironment 100 can also include a network computing provider 107 incommunication with the one or more client computing devices 102, the CDNservice provider 106, and the content provider 104 via the communicationnetwork 108. The network computing provider 107 illustrated in FIG. 1also corresponds to a logical association of one or more computingdevices associated with a network computing provider. Specifically, thenetwork computing provider 107 can include a number of Point of Presence(“POP”) locations 134, 142, 148 that correspond to nodes on thecommunication network 108. Each POP 134, 142, 148 includes a networkcomputing component (NCC) 136, 144, 150 for hosting applications, suchas data streaming applications, via a number of instances of a virtualmachine, generally referred to as an instance of an NCC. One skilled inthe relevant art will appreciate that NCC 136, 144, 150 would includephysical computing device resources and software to provide the multipleinstances of a virtual machine or to dynamically cause the creation ofinstances of a virtual machine. Such creation can be based on a specificrequest, such as from a client computing device, or the NCC can initiatedynamic creation of an instance of a virtual machine on its own. EachNCC POP 134, 142, 148 also includes a storage component 140, 146, 152made up of a number of storage devices for storing any type of data usedin the delivery and processing of network or computing resources,including but not limited to user data, state information, processingrequirements, historical usage data, and resources from contentproviders that will be processed by an instance of an NCC 136, 144, 150and transmitted to various client computers, etc. The NCCs 136, 144, 150and the storage components 140, 146, 152 may further include additionalsoftware and/or hardware components that facilitate communicationsincluding, but not limited to, load balancing or load sharingsoftware/hardware components for selecting instances of a virtualmachine supporting a requested application and/or providing informationto a DNS nameserver to facilitate request routing.

In an illustrative embodiment, NCCs 136, 144, 150 and the storagecomponents 140, 146, 152 are considered to be logically grouped,regardless of whether the components, or portions of the components, arephysically separate. For example, a network computing provider 107 maymaintain separate POPs for providing the NCC and the storage components.Additionally, although the NCC POPs 134, 142, 148 are illustrated inFIG. 1 as logically associated with a network computing provider 107,the NCC POPs will be geographically distributed throughout thecommunication network 108 in a manner to best serve various demographicsof client computing devices 102. Additionally, one skilled in therelevant art will appreciate that the network computing provider 107 canbe associated with various additional computing resources, suchadditional computing devices for administration of content andresources, and the like. Even further, one skilled in the relevant artwill appreciate that the components of the network computing provider107 and components of the CDN service provider 106 can be managed by thesame or different entities.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1, the network computing provider 107 orother entity may also be associated with a service 154 for providingprofile information that specifies information related to a number ofconcurrent connections that can be established between the NCCs 136,144, 150 and content providers 104 or other entities. Illustratively,the information related to a number of concurrent connections caninclude minimum number of concurrent connections, a maximum number ofconcurrent connections, an optimal number of concurrent connections andthe like. Additionally, in an illustrative example, the profileinformation corresponds to a set of identifiable network resources orclasses of network resources. Although illustrated as a single entity,the service 154 may correspond to any number of network based computingdevices, including physical computing devices, virtualized computingdevice hosted on a physical machine and a combination thereof. Stillfurther, service 154 may be hosted as part of the network serviceprovider 107 network or may be provided independent of the networkservice provider.

With reference now to FIGS. 2-6, the interaction between variouscomponents of the networked computing environment 100 of FIG. 1 will beillustrated. Specifically, FIGS. 2-6 illustrate the interaction betweenvarious components of the networked computing environment 100 for theexchange of content between a client computing device 102 and a contentprovider 104 via the network computing provider 107. For purposes of theexample, however, the illustration has been simplified such that many ofthe components utilized to facilitate communications are not shown. Oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that such components can beutilized and that additional interactions would accordingly occurwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 2, the process can begin with the generation andprocessing of a browse session request from a client computing device102 to a network computing provider 107 will be described.Illustratively, the client computing device 102 may load a browser forviewing network content in response to an event or user request.Subsequent to the browser being loaded, the browser may be implementedto request a new browse session. From the perspective of the user of theclient computing device, the request for the new browse sessioncorresponds to the intended request to transmit the request to one ormore corresponding content providers 104. Illustratively, this requestmay be generated automatically as a result of the browser loading (e.g.,a request for a default or “home” page), or may be generated as a resultof a user following a link or entering a network address into an addressbar. In this embodiment, the browser, module loaded on the browser, orstand-alone application, processes the request for the browse session byidentifying the URL of the content being requested and evaluating theidentification information against user agent information maintained bythe browser. The browser, module loaded on the browser, or stand-aloneapplication can then update or modify user agent information that willaccompany the request for content

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the browse session request is transmittedfirst to a network computing provider 107. In an illustrativeembodiment, the network computing provider 107 utilizes a registrationapplication program interface (“API”) to accept browse session requestsfrom the client computing device 102. The browse session request caninclude network address information corresponding to a requested networkresource, which may be in any form, including, but not limited to, anInternet Protocol (“IP”) address, a URL, a Media Access Control (“MAC”)address, etc.

Subsequent to the receipt of the browse session request, the networkcomputing provider 107 may select an associated network computingcomponent (hereinafter “NCC”) point of presence (hereinafter “POP”) suchas NCC POP 142 to service the browse session request. The selection ofthe NCC POP may determine the processing and network resources availableto the instantiated virtual machine.

Illustratively, the selection of processing and network resources andthe provisioning of software at the NCC POP instance may be done, atleast in part, in order to optimize communication with content providers104 and client computing devices 102. For purposes of an illustrativeexample, it is assumed that NCC POP 142 obtains profile informationassociated with the requested network resource. The profile informationcan correspond to a network resource or set of network resources. Forexample, the profile information may apply to all Web pages associatedwith a particular domain (e.g., all Web pages associated www.contentprovider.com). In another example, one or more network resources mayhave specific profiles. The specific profiles may be the only profilefor a resource, it may replace a profile that would otherwise begenerally applicable (such as a default profile for a set of resources),or it may supplement information from one or more network resources.

In one aspect, the profile information specifies, among otherinformation, a number of concurrent network connections that should beestablished and maintained with one or more content providers in orderto process the content associated with the requested network content.Additionally, in some embodiments, the profile information may maintainother information, such as optimization information that includes, orreferences, priority information for requesting one or more resources.In still other embodiments, the profile information can specifyadditional information related to the request of resources, or theinteraction between client computing devices 102, the NCC POP 142 or thecontent providers 104.

With reference to FIG. 3, an illustrative interaction for generation andprocessing of a request for a network resource from a network computingprovider 107 to a content provider 104 will be described. Theinteraction shown in FIG. 3 may be used subsequent to the interactionillustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B or FIG. 2C. As illustrated in FIG. 3, theselected NCC POP 142 may generate a browse session corresponding to oneor more content providers based on a browse session request, such as theillustrative browse session request depicted in FIG. 2 above.Illustratively, instantiating a new browse session instance may includeloading a new virtual machine instance and/or browser instance at theNCC POP 142, reserving or allocating device memory, storage or cachespace, processor time, network bandwidth, or other computational ornetwork resources for the new browse session.

Subsequent to initializing a new browse session instance, NCC POP 142may provide a request for a network resource to a content provider 104based on a network address included in the browse session request. Forexample, a browse session request may include a URL for a Web page, suchas “http://www.xyzsite.com/default.htm.” NCC POP 142 may resolve the URLto an IP address through a DNS resolver associated with the networkcomputing provider (not shown), and may request the Web page from thecontent provider 104 at the resolved IP address. In various embodiments,a network resource may be retrieved from any combination of contentproviders, content delivery network (hereinafter “CDN”) servers, orcaches associated with the network computing provider 107. For example,the network computing provider may check if a resource is stored in alocal cache or in another server or service provider associated with thenetwork computing provider 107. If a network resource is stored in alocal or associated location, the NCC POP 142 may retrieve the networkresource from the local or associated location rather than from thethird party content provider 104 or CDN service provider 106.Illustratively, the NCC POP 142 may provide requests for any number ofnetwork resources as included in the browse session request, and mayobtain these network resources from any number of different sources,sequentially or in parallel.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the content provider 104 receives the resourcerequest from the NCC POP 142 and processes the request accordingly. Inone embodiment, the content provider 104 processes the resource requestas if it were originally provided by the client computing device 102.Subsequent to obtaining the requested network resource from the contentprovider 104 (or other source designated by the content provider), theNCC POP 142 may process the network resource to extract embeddedresource identifiers and gather information for determination of aremote session browsing configuration. For example, a network resourcesuch as a Web page may include embedded CSS style information andJavascript as well as embedded resource identifiers to additionalresources such as text, images, video, audio, animation, executablecode, and other HTML, CSS, and Javascript files. In the process ofextracting the embedded resource identifiers, the NCC POP 142 may gatherinformation about the processed network resources for later use in thedetermination of a remote session browsing configuration as discussedbelow with reference to FIG. 4.

Additionally, in one embodiment, the NCC POP 142, service 154 or otherprocess/entity collects information related to the optimization of thenetwork resources obtained in response to the client computing device102 requests. Illustratively, the collection and processing of networkresource information to generate optimization information can correlateto a continuous process implemented by the network computing provider107. Additionally, the network computing provider 107 can begingenerating optimization information after obtaining a network resource asingle time or for a single client computing device 102. Alternatively,the network computing provider 107 can set a minimum threshold number ofrequests, a minimum threshold number of requests from different clientcomputing devices 102 (or types of client computing devices), orthreshold number of times a particular network resource is requestedprior to processing the information to generate optimizationinformation. Still further, in other embodiments, the network computingprovider 107 can process a base network resource, such as a Web page,that may have one or more embedded resources and obtain the embeddedresources in advance of receiving a request from a client computingdevice 102. In this embodiment, the network computing provider 107 mayprocess the resources requested in advance to also generate optimizationinformation.

In one aspect, the optimization information generated by the networkcomputing provider 107 can correspond to a modification of expirationcriteria associated with requested network objects, like displayobjects. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that a contentprovider 104 can associate expiration criteria with the networkresources (e.g., display objects). Based on the expiration data, areceiving client computing device 102 can utilize a cached version of aresource instead of issuing repeated requests for the same resource. Forexample, if one of the resources corresponds to a static image fileutilized in a Web page, a client computing device 102 can cache theimage file and reuse the static image file in cache memory withouttransmitting repeated requests for the same image file. In one aspect, acontent provider 104 can choose to associate minimum amount ofexpiration data for all resources, such as display objects. In suchembodiments, one or more resources may be valid for a longer period oftime than the expiration data provided by the content provider 104.

With reference to FIG. 4, an illustrative interaction for generation andprocessing of one or more requests corresponding to one or more embeddedresources from a network computing provider to a content provider andcontent delivery network is disclosed. As illustrated in FIG. 4, theselected NCC POP 142 may provide resource requests to one or moresources of content such as content provider 104 and CDN POP 116. Theresource requests may correspond to embedded resources based on one ormore embedded resource identifiers extracted from a requested networkresource (e.g., a Web page) as described in FIG. 3 above. In variousembodiments, embedded resources may be retrieved from any combination ofcontent providers, CDN servers, or caches associated with the networkcomputing provider 107. For example, the network computing provider maycheck if an embedded resource is stored in a local cache or in anotherserver or service provider associated with the network computingprovider 107. If an embedded resource is stored in a local or associatedlocation, the NCC POP 142 may retrieve the embedded resource from thelocal or associated location rather than the third party contentprovider or CDN. Illustratively, the NCC POP 142 may provide requestsfor any number of embedded resources referenced by a network resource,and may obtain these embedded resources from any number of differentsources, sequentially or in parallel. Subsequent to obtaining therequested resources, the NCC POP 142 may process the resources andrequested content to determine a remote session browsing configurationfor the processing and communication of content to the client computingdevice 102.

With reference to FIG. 5, an illustrative interaction for generation andprocessing of processing results and user interaction data between anetwork computing provider and client computing device is disclosed. Aspreviously described, in one embodiment, the respective browsers on theinstantiated network computing component and the client computing device102 can exchange browsers' session information related to the allocationand processing of the requested resources at the instantiated networkcomputing component and client computing device. As illustrated in FIG.5, the selected NCC POP 142 may provide an initial processing result tothe client computing device 102 over the network 108. The initialprocessing result may correspond to requested network content, such as aWeb page, along with associated embedded resources processed by the NCCPOP 142 in accordance with a selected remote session browsingconfiguration as described in FIG. 4 above. The NCC POP 142 also makes adetermination of which additional processes will be conducted at the NCCPOP 142, at the client computing device 102, or both. Subsequent toreceiving an initial processing result and the allocation of processes,the client computing device 102 may perform any remaining processingactions on the initial processing result as required by the selectedremote session browsing configuration, and may display the fullyprocessed content in a content display area of a browser. The clientcomputing device 102 may process any local user interactions with localinterface components or content elements locally, and may provide userinteractions requiring remote processing to the network computingprovider 107. The network computing provider 107 may provide updatedprocessing results to the client computing device in response to changesto the content or remote user interaction data from the client computingdevice. Additionally, the network computing provider 107 can update theprofile information based on observed performance or other feedbackassociated with requesting and processing resources.

With reference to FIG. 6, a block diagram of the content deliveryenvironment of FIG. 1 illustrating the generation and processing of anadditional new browse session request from a client computing device toa network computing provider is disclosed. As illustrated in FIG. 6, asecond new browse session request may be sent to network computingprovider 107 from client computing device 102 across network 108. In anillustrative embodiment, the network computing provider 107 utilizes aregistration API to accept browse session requests from the clientcomputing device 102.

The additional browse session request may be generated by a clientcomputing device 102 in response to a user opening up a new browserwindow with a new content display area, opening a new content displayarea in an existing browser window (e.g., opening a new tab in abrowser), requesting new network content in an existing content displayarea (e.g., following a link to a new network resource, or entering anew network address into the browser), or any other user interaction.For example, a user browsing a first Web page corresponding to a firstbrowse session instance may follow a link that opens a new tab orbrowser window to view a second Web page. In one embodiment, anyrequired steps of obtaining and processing content associated with thesecond Web page may be performed by the currently instantiated networkcomputing component in which the browser can handle the processing ofboth resource requests. In another embodiment, the client computingdevice 102 requests may be processed as a new browse session request tothe network computing provider 107, including the network address of thesecond Web page. In this embodiment, the browser on the client computingdevice may not specifically request a separate browse session, and auser's interaction with the browser on the client computing device 102may appear to be part of a same browsing session.

As described above with regard to FIGS. 2 and 3, the network computingprovider 107 may cause an instantiation of a network computing componentfor obtaining and processing content associated with the second webpage. In other embodiments, a new browse session request may begenerated by the client computing device 102 corresponding to sectionsof a network resource (e.g., frames of a Web page), individual networkresources, or embedded resources themselves, data objects included in aset of content, or individual network resources.

Illustratively, the additional browse session request may include anynumber of pieces of data or information including, but not limited to,information associated with a user, information associated with theclient computing device 102 (e.g., hardware or software information, adevice physical or logical location, etc.), information associated withthe network 108, user or browser preferences (e.g., a requested remotesession browse protocol, a preference list, a decision tree, or otherinformation), information associated with the network computing provider107, information associated with one or more pieces of requested networkcontent (e.g., the network address of a network resource), etc.Requested content may include any manner of digital content, includingWeb pages or other documents, text, images, video, audio, executablescripts or code, or any other type of digital resource.

Subsequent to the receipt of the browse session request, the networkcomputing provider 107 determines a number of concurrent networkconnections to establish (based on profile information) and may selectan associated network computing component such as NCC POP 142 to servicethe browse session request. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 2,a network computing provider 107 may select an NCC POP to service abrowse session request based on any number of factors, including, butnot limited to available NCC POP resources (e.g., available memory,processor load, network load, etc.), a financial cost of servicing thebrowse session request at the NCC POP, the NCC POP location respectiveto a client computing device 102, content provider 112, or CDN POP 116,a NCC POP cache status (e.g., whether a requested resource is alreadystored in an NCC POP cache), etc.

In one embodiment, the network computing provider 107 may select anumber of NCC POPs to service a browse session request. Illustratively,although the network computing provider 107 is depicted here forpurposes of illustration as selecting NCC POP 142, the network computingprovider 107 may select any extant NCC POP to service the browse sessionrequest. For example, a single client computing device 102 maysimultaneously or sequentially provide three different browse sessionrequests to the network computing provider 107 corresponding todifferent network resources. The network computing provider 107 mayselect different NCC POPs for each browse session request, the same NCCPOP for all three browse session requests, or any combination thereof.As discussed above, the decision whether to select a different NCC POPthan was utilized for a previous or simultaneous browse session requestmay be made on the basis of available system resources, randomly, oraccording to any other factor as discussed above and with regards toFIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting illustrative browser content processingactions as a series of processing subsystems 700. In many embodiments, abrowser may process sets of content (e.g., network resources such as webpages and associated embedded resources) in a series of processingactions. Illustratively, and as described above with reference to FIGS.3-5, a remote session browsing configuration may specify a split betweenprocessing actions performed at a network computing provider (e.g., anNCC POP) and processing actions performed at a client computing device102. This split may designate some processing actions to be performed byeach of the NCC POP and client computing device 102, or may assign allprocessing actions to a single device or component. For example, an NCCPOP may perform all of these various processing actions at the browsesession instance, and send fully processed RDP processing results to theclient computing device 102 for bitmap assembly and display. Any numberof different remote session browsing configurations may be used by oneor more browse sessions instances running at an NCC POP.

One of skill in the relevant art will appreciate that the subsystemsshown here are depicted for the purpose of illustration, and are notintended to describe a necessary order or a definitive list of browsersubsystems. Various browser software components may implement additionalor fewer browser subsystems than are shown here, and may order thesubsystems or corresponding processing actions in any number ofdifferent ways. Although the processing subsystems 700 depicted here forpurposes of illustration are directed at the processing of Web pages orother Web content, one of skill in the relevant art will appreciate thatthe processing of other file types or network resources may be broken upin a similar manner. For example, one of skill in the relevant art willappreciate that a similar schema may be developed for the processing ofimages, video, audio, database information, 3d design data, or any otherfile format or type of data known in the art. Similar schema may also bedeveloped for any number of device operating system or softwareframework processing operations, such as scheduling, memory or filemanagement, system resource management, process or service execution ormanagement, etc. Further, although the HTML protocol and RDP remotesession communication protocols are discussed herein for the purposes ofexample, one of skill in the relevant art will appreciate that a remotesession browsing configuration may implement any number of remotecommunication protocols for any number of specified processing actions,and that a remote session browsing configuration may be formulated toperform any fraction or combination of the actions identified below atany combination of the client computing device 102 and network computingprovider 107.

Illustratively, the first processing subsystem involved in theprocessing and display of network content is the networking subsystem702. Illustratively, the networking subsystem 702 may be responsible forall communication between the browser and content provider, includinglocal caching of Web content. The networking subsystem is generallylimited by the performance of the user's network. A remote sessionbrowsing configuration that splits processing actions at the networkingsubsystem 702 might include a remote session browsing configurationutilizing an HTML remote session communication protocol, where one ormore caching or resource retrieval actions were performed at the NCCPOP, but parsing and processing of the content was performed at theclient computing device.

As network resources such as HTML documents are downloaded from theserver they may be passed to an HTML subsystem 704 which parses thedocument, initiates additional downloads in the networking subsystem,and creates a structural representation of the document. Modern browsersmay also contain related subsystems which are used for XHTML, XML andSVG documents. A remote session browsing configuration that splitsprocessing actions at the HTML subsystem 704 might include a remotesession browsing configuration utilizing an HTML remote sessioncommunication protocol, where an initial HTML page is processed at theNCC POP in order to extract embedded resource identifiers, butadditional parsing and processing of the content is performed at theclient computing device. In another embodiment, a remote sessionbrowsing configuration that splits processing actions at the HTMLsubsystem 704 might perform initial processing to create the structuralrepresentation of the HTML document, and provides a processing resultincluding the structural representation and associated embeddedresources to the client computing device for processing.

When CSS is encountered, whether inside an HTML document or an embeddedCSS document, it may be passed to a CSS subsystem 706 to parse the styleinformation and create a structural representation that can bereferenced later. Illustratively, a remote session browsingconfiguration that splits processing actions at a CSS subsystem 706 mayconstruct a processing result including the CSS structuralrepresentation and HTML structural representation, and provide theprocessing result and associated embedded resources to the clientcomputing device for processing.

HTML documents often contain metadata, for example the informationdescribed in a document header or the attributes applied to an element.The collections subsystem 708 may be responsible for storing andaccessing this metadata. A remote session browsing configuration thatsplits processing actions at a collections subsystem 708 may construct aprocessing result including processed metadata along with any otherstructural representations discussed above, and provide the processingresult and associated embedded resources to the client computing devicefor processing.

When Javascript is encountered, it may be passed directly to aJavaScript subsystem 710 responsible for executing the script. TheJavascript subsystem 710 has been examined fully over the years, and maybe one of the most well-known browser subsystems in the art. A remotesession browsing configuration that splits processing actions at aJavascript subsystem 710 may construct a processing result including aninternal representation of one or more Javascript scripts, including,but not limited to state data or a representation of the script in anative or intermediate form, as well as any other processed structuresor data discussed above, and provide the processing result andassociated embedded resources to the client computing device forprocessing.

Because many JavaScript engines are not directly integrated into thebrowser, there may be a communication layer including the marshallingsubsystem 712 between the browser and the script engine. Passinginformation through this communication layer may generally be referredto as marshaling. A remote session browsing configuration that splitsprocessing actions at a marshalling subsystem 712 may construct aprocessing result including marshalling data as well as any otherprocessed structures, scripts, or data discussed above, and provide theprocessing result and associated embedded resources to the clientcomputing device for processing.

In some embodiments, JavaScript interacts with an underlying networkresource such as a Web document through the Document Object Model APIs.These APIs may be provided through a native object model subsystem 714that knows how to access and manipulate the document and is the primaryinteraction point between the script engine and the browser.Illustratively, a remote session browsing configuration that splitsprocessing actions at a native object model subsystem 714 may constructa processing result including native object model state data or APIcalls as well as any other processed structures, scripts, or datadiscussed above, and provide the processing result and any otherassociated embedded resources to the client computing device forprocessing.

Once the document is constructed, the browser may needs to apply styleinformation before it can be displayed to the user. The formattingsubsystem 716 takes the HTML document and applies styles.Illustratively, a remote session browsing configuration that splitsprocessing actions at a formatting subsystem 716 may construct aprocessing result including an HTML representation with applied styles,as well as any other processed state data, API calls, structures,scripts, or data discussed above, and provide the processing result andany other associated embedded resources to the client computing devicefor processing.

In one embodiment, CSS is a block based layout system. After thedocument is styled, the next step, at a block building subsystem 717,may be to construct rectangular blocks that will be displayed to theuser. This process may determine things like the size of the blocks andmay be tightly integrated with the next stage, layout. A remote sessionbrowsing configuration that splits processing actions at a blockbuilding subsystem 717 may construct a processing result including blockinformation, as well as any other processed state data, API calls,structures, scripts, or data discussed above, and provide the processingresult and any other associated embedded resources to the clientcomputing device for processing.

Subsequent to the browser styling the content and constructing theblocks, it may go through the process of laying out the content. Thelayout subsystem 720 is responsible for this algorithmically complexprocess. Illustratively, a remote session browsing configuration thatsplits processing actions at a layout subsystem 720 may process thevarious state data, API calls, structures, scripts, or data discussedabove to construct a processing result including layout information forthe client computing device. Illustratively, an NCC POP may make use ofvarious data or settings associated with the client computing device orbrowser (e.g., as provided in the initial browse session request) inorder to generate a suitable layout for the client computing device. Forexample, a mobile device may provide a screen resolution and a displaymode to the NCC POP. The NCC POP may base layout calculations on thisscreen resolution and display mode in order to generate a processingresult corresponding to a content representation suitable for a browserrunning on the mobile device. Illustratively, in various embodiments,any other subsystem implemented by the NCC POP may make use of dataassociated with the client computing device or browser in generating aprocessing result for the client.

The final stage of the process may occur inside the display subsystem722 where the final content is displayed to the user. This process isoften referred to as drawing. A remote session browsing configurationthat splits processing actions at the networking subsystem 702 mightinclude a remote session browsing configuration utilizing an RDP remotesession communication protocol, where nearly all processing is performedat the NCC POP, and a processing result including bitmap data and lowlevel interface data are passed to the client computing device fordisplay.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrative of a new browse session routine800 implemented by network computing provider 107 of FIG. 1. New browsesession routine 800 begins at block 802. At block 804, the networkcomputing provider 107 receives a new browse session request from clientcomputing device 102. As previously described, the client computingdevice 102 may load a browser for viewing network content in response toan event or user request. Subsequent to the browser being loaded, thebrowser may be implemented request a new browse session. From theperspective of the user of the client computing device, the request forthe new browse session corresponds to the intended request to transmitthe request to one or more corresponding content providers 104.Illustratively, this request may be generated automatically as a resultof the browser loading (e.g., a request for a default or “home” page),or may be generated as a result of a user following a link or entering anetwork address into an address bar. This browse session request mayinclude one or more addresses or references to various network resourcesor other content requested by the client computing device 102. In anillustrative embodiment, the browse session request is transmitted inaccordance with an API.

At block 806, the network computing provider 107 initializes a newbrowser session instance on the NCC POP. In one aspect, the networkcomputing provider 107 can obtain profile information that specifiesinformation related to the number of concurrent connections that shouldbe established between the network computing provider 107 and a contentprovider 104. Illustratively, the profile information is maintained forone or more network resources, the network computing device canestablish a number of concurrent connections with the content provider.The number of connections can correspond to a minimum number of networkconnections that should be established, a maximum number of networkconnections that should be established or an optimal number of networkconnections that should be established. The profile information may bedynamic in nature taking into consideration the makeup of the requestedcontent (e.g., embedded content), historical access information andcurrent network connectivity metrics. The established networkconnections can be utilized to obtain content from the content provider.

In one embodiment, the profile information may manually specify by asystem administrator or automatically generated from multipleinteractions with network resources. In another embodiment, the profileinformation may be specified by the content provider (or clientcomputing device) utilized an interface, such as an API. For example,the network computing provider 107 may establish a minimum number ofclient computing device access requests that must be process prior todetermining the profile information. Additionally, the network computingprovider 107 may specify default values for profile information that canbe updated based on historical access information.

In another aspect, the network computing provider 107 may select anassociated NCC POP to instantiate a new browse session based on thebrowse session request. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, anetwork computing provider 107 may include any number of NCC POPsdistributed across any number of physical or logical locations. Anetwork computing provider 107 may select a NCC POP to service a browsesession request based on any number of factors, including, but notlimited to available NCC POP resources (e.g., available memory,processor load, network load, etc.), a financial cost of servicing thebrowse session request at the NCC POP, the NCC POP location respectiveto a client computing device 102, content provider 104, or CDN POP 116,a NCC POP cache status (e.g., whether a requested resource is alreadystored in an NCC POP cache), etc.

In one embodiment, the network computing provider 107 may select anumber of NCC POPs to service a browse session request. For example, thenetwork computing provider 107 may select two NCC POPs with differentlogical locations in the network. Each NCC POP may independently requestand process network content on the behalf of the client computing device102, and the client computing device 102 may accept data from the firstNCC POP to return a processing result. Subsequent to being selected bythe network computing provider 107, NCC POP 142 may obtain the browsesession request. In one embodiment, NCC POP 142 may have the browsesession request forwarded to it by a component of network computingprovider 107. In another embodiment, NCC POP 142 or client computingdevice 102 may receive connection information allowing the establishmentof direct communication between NCC POP 142 and client computing device102. Illustratively, NCC POP 142 may be provided with the browse sessionrequest originally provided to network computing provider 107, may beprovided with a subset of information (e.g., just a network address ofrequested content), or may be provided additional information notincluded in the original browse session request.

Subsequent to the NCC POP 142 being selected, the network computingprovider 107 may cause the NCC POP 142 to instantiate a new browsesession. Illustratively, instantiating a new browse session instance mayinclude loading a new virtual machine instance and/or browser instanceat the NCC POP 142, reserving or allocating device memory, storage orcache space, processor time, network bandwidth, or other computationalor network resources for the new browse session. Illustratively, one ormore characteristics of the new browse session instance and/or browserinstance may be based on client computing device 102 informationincluded in the browse session request. For example, the browse sessionrequest may include a device type or browser type, a device screenresolution, a browser display area, or other information defining thedisplay preferences or capabilities of the client computing device 102or browser. The NCC POP 142 may accordingly instantiate a virtualmachine instance and/or a browser instance with the same or similarcapabilities as the client computing device 102. Illustratively,maintaining a virtual machine instance and/or browser with the same orsimilar capabilities as the client computing device 102 may allow theNCC POP 142 to process network content according to the appropriatedimensions and layout for display on the particular client computingdevice 102.

In some embodiments, the NCC POP 142 may utilize an existing virtualmachine instance and/or browser instance in addition to, or as analternative to, instating a new browse session. For example, subsequentto the NCC POP 142 being selected, the network computing provider 107may cause the NCC POP 142 to associate an existing browser instanceand/or virtual machine instance, such as one or more instancespreviously instantiated at the NCC POP 142, with the new browse sessionrequest. Illustratively, an existing browser session and/or virtualmachine instance may correspond to another browse session, remoteapplication session, or other remote process associated with the user orclient computing device 102, or may be a previously instantiatedsoftware instance from an unrelated browse session or remote process. Inother embodiments, the NCC POP 142 may instantiate a new browser orother application process in an existing virtual machine instance, ormay combine the utilization of previously instantiated and newlyinstantiated software processes in any number of other ways. In stillfurther embodiments, the network computing provider or NCC POP 142 mayinstantiate any number of new virtual machine instances and/or browserinstances (or make use of existing instantiated instances) based on asingle browse session request.

At block 808, the network computing provider 107 may provide a requestfor one or more network resources to a content provider or CDN serviceprovider based on a network address included in the browse sessionrequest and utilizing the established number of concurrent connectionsthat have been established. In various embodiments, one or more networkresources may be additionally or alternately retrieved from a cachelocal to the NCC POP 142 or otherwise associated with the networkcomputing provider 107. One of skill in the art will appreciate that, inthe case of other embodiments, the link or network address maycorrespond to a document or file stored in a digital file locker orother network storage location or at a cache component associated withthe network computing provider 107 or client computing device 102. Insome embodiments, the new session request may include a document or filein addition to or as an alternative to a network address. At block 810,the network computing provider 107 obtains the one or more networkresources. Subsequent to obtaining the requested network resource, theNCC POP 142 may process the network resource to extract embeddedresource identifiers.

At block 812, the network computing provider 107 may provide resourcerequests to one or more sources of content such as content providers,CDN service providers, and caches. The resource requests may correspondto embedded resources based on the one or more embedded resourceidentifiers extracted from the one or more network resource as describedin block 910 above. At block 814, the network computing provider 107 mayobtain these embedded resources from any number of different sources,sequentially or in parallel.

At block 816, the network computing provider 107 may process the one ormore network resources and associated embedded resources to determine aremote session browsing configuration for the processing andcommunication of content to the client computing device 102. A remotesession browsing configuration may include any proprietary or publicremote protocol allowing exchange of data and user interactions orrequests between a client and a remote server. The remote sessionbrowsing configuration may illustratively include both a remote sessioncommunication protocol and a processing schema for providing processed(or unprocessed) content to a client computing device for display in thecontent display area of a browser.

Illustratively, a remote session browsing configuration may define orspecify a remote session communication protocol, including, but notlimited to, a network protocol, signaling model, transport mechanism, orencapsulation format for the exchange of state data, user interactions,and other data and content between the network computing provider andthe client computing device. Examples of remote session communicationprotocols known in the art include Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP),X-Windows protocol, Virtual Network Computing (VNC) protocol, RemoteFrame Buffer protocol, HTML, etc. For example, RDP illustrativelyspecifies a number of processing mechanisms for encoding client input(e.g., mouse movement, keyboard input, etc.) into protocol data unitsfor provision to a remote computing device, and corresponding mechanismsfor sending bitmap updates and low level interface information back tothe client device. As another example, the HTML protocol illustrativelyprovides a mechanism for providing files defining interface informationand containing resources references from a server to a client, and acorresponding mechanism for a client computing device to providerequests for additional files and resources to the server. In oneembodiment, the NCC POP 142 may provide an initial communication to theclient computing device 102 after determining the remote sessioncommunication protocol. This initial communication may allow the clientcomputing device 102 to prepare to receive communications in theselected remote session communication protocol, and, in the case of pullremote session communication protocols like HTTP, may cause the clientcomputing device to send an initial resource request to the browsesession instance running on the NCC POP 142.

Each remote session browsing configuration may additionally define asplit of processing actions between the network computing service (e.g.,NCC POP 142) and the client computing device (e.g., client computingdevice 102). In one embodiment, a particular split of processing actionsmay be based on or mandated by a particular remote session communicationprotocol. In another embodiment, a remote session communication protocolmay allow several different splits of processing actions depending onthe implementation or configuration of the protocol. For the purpose ofillustration, many pieces of network content (e.g., Web pages, video,Flash documents) may require various processing actions before beingdisplayed on a computing device. A Web page, for example, may be parsedto process various HTML layout information and references to associatedresources or embedded content such as CSS style sheets and Javascript,as well as embedded content objects such as images, video, audio, etc.The HTML and each referenced object or piece of code will typically beparsed and processed before a representative object model correspondingto the Web page may be constructed. This object model may then beprocessed further for layout and display in a content display area of abrowser at the client computing device 102. Illustrative browserprocessing actions are described in greater detail below with referenceto FIG. 9. One of skill in the art will appreciate that, in the case ofother embodiments or applications, various other processing actions maybe required.

A remote session browsing configuration may specify that several of theprocessing actions required for display of piece of network content beperformed at the remote computing device, such as the NCC POP 142,rather than at the client computing device 102. Network contentpartially (or wholly) processed at the network computing provider may bereferred to as a processing result. As discussed below, the split ofprocessing actions may be associated with or linked to the remotesession communication protocol used for exchanging data and client inputbetween the NCC POP 142 and client computing device 102.

For example, a remote session communication protocol such as RDP thattransmits a processing result including low level interface informationand bitmaps to the client computing device 142 for display may beassociated with a remote session browsing configuration that specifiesperforming all, or nearly all, of the necessary content processingactions at the NCC POP 142. While using RDP, the NCC POP 142 may, forexample, run a full instance of a browser the NCC POP 142 and transmit aprocessing result consisting of bitmap updates corresponding to arepresentation of the displayed content to the client computing device102. The client computing device 102, in this example, may merely berequired to assemble the transmitted bitmap updates for display in thecontent display area of the browser, and may perform none of theprocessing of the actual HTML, Javascript, or data objects involved inthe display of an illustrative piece of network content. As anotherexample, a remote session browsing configuration utilizing a remotesession communication protocol such as HTML may transmit network contentin a largely unprocessed form. The client computing device 102 may thusperform all of the processing actions required for display of networkcontent while the NCC POP 142 performs little or no processing.

The NCC POP 142 may base its determination of a remote session browsingconfiguration on any number of factors, including, but not limited to,one or more characteristics of one or more of the requested resources,content provider 104, or CDN service provider 106, one or morecharacteristics of the content address or domain, one or morecharacteristics of the client computing device 102, browser orapplication, user, one or more characteristics of the NCC POP 142, orone or more characteristics of the network or network connection, etc.Characteristics of requested resources may include, but are not limitedto, a data format, a content type, a size, processing requirements,resource latency requirements, a number or type of interactive elements,a security risk, an associated user preference, a network address, anetwork domain, an associated content provider, etc. Characteristics ofa content provider 104, CDN service provider 106, computing device 102,or NCC POP 142 may include, but are not limited to, processing power,memory, storage, network connectivity (e.g., available bandwidth orlatency), a physical or logical location, predicted stability or risk offailure, a software or hardware profile, available resources (e.g.,available memory or processing, or the number of concurrently opensoftware applications), etc. The NCC POP 142 may further considerperceived security threats or risks associated with a piece of contentor domain, preferences of a client computing device or a contentprovider, computing or network resource costs (e.g., a financial cost ofprocessing or bandwidth, resource usage, etc.), predeterminedpreferences or selection information, any additional processing overheadrequired by a particular remote session browsing configuration, a cachestatus (e.g., whether a particular resources is cached at a NCC POP 142,at the client computing device 102, or at other network storageassociated with the network computing provider), a predicted delay ortime required to retrieve requested network content, a preferred contentprovider or agreements with a content provider for a particular remotesession browsing configuration or level of service, a remote sessionbrowsing configuration being used for another (or the current) browsesession by the same user, or any other factor.

In some embodiments, an NCC POP 142 may base a determination of a remotesession browsing configuration on past behavior or practice. Forexample, an NCC POP 142 that has determined a remote browse sessionconfiguration for a particular resource in the past may automaticallyselect the same remote browse session configuration when the resource isrequested by the same (or potentially a different) user. As anotherexample, a user that has a history of frequently accessing Web siteswith extensive processing requirements may automatically be assigned aremote session browsing configuration that performs the majority ofprocessing at the NCC POP 142. In other embodiments, an NCC POP 142 maybase a determination of a remote browse session configuration onpredictions of future behavior. For example, an NCC POP 142 may base itsdetermination of a remote browse session configuration for a particularresource on an analysis of past determinations made for a particular Website, network domain, or set of related resources. A content providerthat historically has provided video-heavy Web pages may be associatedwith a remote session browsing configuration that emphasizes videoperformance at the client computing device 102. Illustratively, pasthistorical analysis and future predictions may be considered as one ormore of a number of factors on which to base the remote session browsingconfiguration determination process, or may be definitive in thedecision making process. For example, once an NCC POP 142 determines aremote session browsing configuration for a particular content provider,it may skip the remote session browsing configuration determinationprocess for any future resources served from the content provider.Illustratively, the NCC POP 142 may re-determine a remote sessionbrowsing configuration to be associated with the content provider aftera fixed period of time, or after the NCC POP 142 has identified ordetermined a change in the content being served by the content provider.

In other embodiments, a network resource, Web site, network domain,content provider, or other network entity may specify or otherwiserequest the use of a particular remote browse session configuration in aresource tag, metadata, or other communication with an NCC POP 142. TheNCC POP 142 may treat the request as definitive, or may consider therequest as one of multiple factors to be considered in the decisionmaking process.

For example, a remote session browsing configuration utilizing a remotesession communication protocol such as RDP may specify extensiveprocessing to occur at the network computing provider 107 (e.g., at NCCPOP 142) rather than at the client computing device 102. The remotesession browsing configuration may thus leverage the processing power ofthe NCC POP 142 to achieve lower latencies and presentation delay whendealing with network content that requires a great deal ofpre-processing (e.g., content with a great deal of CSS or Javascriptinformation defining page layout). The NCC POP 142 may therefore selecta remote session browsing configuration that performs a substantialamount of processing at the network computing provider 107 and utilizesRDP or a similar remote session communication protocol for communicationof processing-intensive content. Conversely, a remote session browsingconfiguration that utilizes a remote session communication protocol suchas HTML may specify extensive processing at the client computing device102 rather than at the network computing provider 107. The remotesession communication protocol may thus achieve smaller delays andsmoother presentation when presented with simple network content thatrequires very little processing or network content that requires rapidchange in displayed content after its initial load. For example, a Webpage with embedded video may perform better performing the majority ofprocessing locally and utilizing HTML rather than RDP as a remotesession communication protocol. A remote session browsing configurationspecifying extensive processing at the network computing provider 107must process the video at the NCC POP 142 and rapidly send screenupdates (e.g. by RDP) to the client computing device 102, potentiallyrequiring a great deal of bandwidth and causing choppy playback in thebrowser, while a remote session browsing configuration specifying localprocessing may provide raw video information directly to the clientcomputing device 102 for display (e.g. by HTML), allowing for clientside caching and a smoother playback of content.

As a further example, the NCC POP 142 in communication with a clientcomputing device 102 with extremely limited processing power may electto use a remote session browsing configuration that requires very littleprocessing by the client computing device, for example, using RDP totransmit NCC POP 142 processed results. Conversely, an NCC POP 142providing an extremely interactive Web page may elect to use a remotesession browsing configuration that allows the client computing device102 to handle user interactions locally in order to preserve interfaceresponsiveness, for example, using HTML to transmit substantiallyunprocessed data. As a still further example, a NCC POP 142 may base thedetermination of a remote session browse configuration on preferencesprovided by the client computing device 102. A client computing device102 may illustratively include preferences for a remote session browseconfiguration in an initial browse session request, or at any othertime. The NCC POP 142 may utilize these preferences as an alternativeto, or in addition to any other factor or decision metric.Illustratively, allowing the client computing device 102 to set orinfluence the selection of a remote session browse configuration allowsthe NCC POP 142 to take user preferences in account when determining aremote session browse configuration. For example, a user worried aboutinitial page load times may prefer to use a remote session browsingconfiguration heavy on remote processing and utilizing an RDP remotesession communications protocol, while a user wishing to maintain anextremely responsive interface may prefer using a remote sessionbrowsing configuration that performs the majority of the processing onthe client computing device 102, for example, using an HTML remotesession communication protocol.

Illustratively, the NCC POP 142 may base a determination of a remotebrowsing configuration on any factor or combination of factors. Forexample, the NCC POP 142 may select a remote session browsingconfiguration based on a single factor, or may assign weights to one ormore factors in making a determination. In some embodiments, thedetermination process of the NCC POP 142 may change based on one or morefactors described above. For example, an NCC POP 142 communicating witha client computing device 102 over a network with a surplus of unusedbandwidth may give a low weight to factors such as the networkrequirements of a remote browse session, and may give a higher weight tofactors such as the latency of page interactions, while an NCC POP 142communicating with a client computing device 102 over a limitedbandwidth network may give a higher weight to factors dealing with theefficiency of the remote session browse protocol over a network.

In one embodiment, the NCC POP 142 may select a single remote sessionbrowsing configuration for a set of network content. For example, theNCC POP 142 may select a single remote session browsing configurationfor a requested network resource such as a Web page. The NCC POP 142 maythus process the Web page together with all embedded content based onthe selected remote browsing session protocol, and utilize the remotebrowsing session protocol to exchange user interaction data and updatedbrowse session data for all embedded content associated with the Webpage. In another embodiment, the NCC POP 142 may select different remotesession browsing configurations for one or more resources in a set ofnetwork content. For example, a network resource such as a Web page mayreference processing intensive embedded Javascript or CSS resources, aswell as embedded video resources. The NCC POP 142 may select a firstremote session browsing configuration for the Web page and all embeddedresources excluding the embedded video resource, and a second remotesession browsing configuration for the embedded video resource.Illustratively, this may result in the NCC POP 142 utilizing RDP to senda processing result to the client computing device 102 for display ofthe Web page and associated embedded resources, while utilizing HTTP tosend the embedded video as a separate, unprocessed file. In oneembodiment, the client computing device 102 may perform the minimalprocessing required to display the RDP processing result correspondingto the Web page and embedded resources, and may also perform additionalprocessing necessary to display the embedded video, for example,overlaying the video on top of the displayed RDP representation of theWeb page. Any number of remote session browsing configurations may beselected to correspond to any number of resources or objects included ina set of network content, regardless of whether resources or objects areobtained from a content provider 104 or CDN service provider 106 in oneor more logical files or data structures.

Although the selection of a remote session browsing configuration isillustratively depicted herein as occurring after all network resourcesand associated embedded content have been obtained by the NCC POP 142,one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the selection of aremote session browsing configuration may be performed at any time. Forexample, the NCC POP 142 may select a remote session browsingconfiguration after receiving a new browse session request or relatedinformation from the client computing device, may select a remotesession browsing configuration after obtaining a network resource, butbefore obtaining any associated embedded resources, or at any othertime. In some embodiments, the NCC POP 142 may switch to a new remotesession browsing configuration at some time subsequent to the clientcomputing device 102 obtaining an initial processing result.Illustratively, the NCC POP 142 selecting a new remote session browsingconfiguration may occur automatically after a certain time period orevent or in response to a change in network conditions, NCC POP 142 orclient computing device 102 load or computing resources, or any otherfactor described above as potentially influencing the choice of remotesession browsing configuration. Illustratively, an NCC POP 142 dealingwith other types or formats of information may select a remote sessionprotocol based on any number of similar factors. For example, one ofskill in the relevant art will appreciate that a similar schema may bedeveloped for the processing of images, video, audio, databaseinformation, 3d design data, or any other file format or type of dataknown in the art.

The client computing device 102 may, in various embodiments, furtherinstantiate a parallel browsing process sequentially or simultaneouslywith the request for a remote browse session. In one embodiment, aclient computing device 102 may instantiate a traditional local browsesession as known in the art (e.g., providing content requests from thebrowser and processing obtained resources locally) in addition to one ormore remote browse instance executing at an NCC POP 142. In anotherembodiment, a client computing device 102 may be provided withunprocessed network resources by the NCC POP 142. Illustratively, thenetwork resources may have been retrieved from one or more contentproviders, CDNs, or cache components by the NCC POP 142. The resourcesmay be provided to the client computing device 102 to process locally inparallel with the remote browse instance executing at the NCC POP 142.In still further embodiments, the network computing provider or NCC POP142 may instantiate any number of new virtual machine instances and/orbrowser instances (or make use of existing instantiated instances) toprocess resources and/or send processing results to the client computingdevice 102 in parallel. Illustratively, the local browse session at theclient computing device 102 and the remote browse session instance atthe NCC POP 142 may execute in parallel.

In one embodiment, a local browse session executing at the clientcomputing device 102 may obtain unprocessed content (e.g., html Webpages, embedded content, and other network resources) from the NCC POP142 responsive to a browse session request. Illustratively, the contentmay have been retrieved by the NCC POP 142 from a content provider, CDN,or cache in response to the browse session request. The unprocessedcontent provided by the NCC POP 142 may include all the contentassociated with the browse session request or may supplement contentexisting in a cache of the client computing device, retrieved from acontent provider or CDN, or obtained from some other source. In oneembodiment, a client computing device 102 may obtain all requestedcontent from a local cache, and may not obtain any unprocessed resourcesor content from the NCC POP 142. Subsequent to obtaining the unprocessedcontent, client computing device 102 may process the requested contentin parallel with a remote browse session executing at the NCC POP 142.For example, as the local browse session executing at the clientcomputing device 102 is processing the requested content, a remotebrowse session executing at the NCC POP 142 may be processing the samecontent at substantially the same time. Once the NCC POP 142 hasperformed a set of processing actions on the content to generate aprocessing result (e.g., as specified by a determined remote sessionbrowsing configuration), the NCC POP 142 may provide the processingresult to the client computing device 102.

For the purpose of illustration, a client computing device 102 mayrequire a longer load time to obtain and process requested networkresources than a browse session instance running at the NCC POP 142. Forexample, the NCC POP 142 may obtain and process content quickly due toits position on the network and the relative processing power of thelocal client computing device as compared to the NCC POP 142. Even ifthe NCC POP 142 provides the client computing device 102 with allrequested network content, the client computing device 102 may stillobtain a processing result from NCC POP 142 before the local browsesession has fully completed processing the requested resources. Theclient computing device 102 may complete any further processing stepsand display the obtained processing result before completing localprocessing and display of the content. Illustratively, this may allowthe client computing device 102 to take advantage of an NCC POP 142'squicker content load time relative to a traditional local browsesession. Prior to the local browse session completing the processing allrequested resources, the browser may process any user interactionslocally and/or remotely as described in FIGS. 5 and 11 below.

Once the local browse session has fully obtained and processed resourcescorresponding to the requested content, the computing device 102 maydetermine whether to continue to display results obtained from the NCCPOP 142 (and process user interactions at the NCC POP 142) using thedetermined remote session browsing configuration or switch to processinguser interactions locally. Switching to process user interactionslocally may include replacing a displayed representation of therequested resources based on a processing result obtained from the NCCPOP 142 with a local display of the requested resources. For example, abrowser may display a representation of a Web page corresponding to aprocessing result from the NCC POP 142 (e.g., RDP display informationrepresenting the rendered page) until the browser is finished processingand rendering the Web page locally. The browser may then replace therepresentation from the NCC POP 142 with the locally renderedrepresentation of the Web page. Illustratively, replacing onerepresentation with another representation may be transparent to theuser. For example, the local and NCC POP 142 representations of the Webpage may be identical or substantially identical. In one embodiment,when the NCC POP 142 representation of the web page is displayed, thebrowser may send various user interactions with the displayed page tothe NCC POP 142 for processing. When the locally rendered version of theWeb page is displayed, user interactions may be processed locally at thebrowser. Illustratively, the determination of which representation ofthe requested resources to display (e.g., local or from the NCC POP 142)may be based on any of the same factors described with reference todetermining a remote session browse protocol in above.

In one embodiment, the client computing device 102 may switch toprocessing user interactions locally as soon as local resources arefully loaded. Illustratively, the remote browse session instance runningat the NCC POP 142 may be terminated after switching to localprocessing, or the remote browse session instance may be maintained as abackup in case of unresponsiveness or a failure with regards to thelocal browse session. For example, the client computing device 102 mayprocess user interactions locally, as well as sending remote userinteraction data to the NCC POP 142 in accordance with the selectedremote session browsing configuration. The remote user interaction datamay be used by the NCC POP 142 to keep the remote browse sessioninstance fully in parallel with the local browse process being executedby the browser at the client computing device 102. As long as the localbrowse session continues to handle user interactions, the NCC POP 142may either refrain from sending updated processing results, or may sendupdated processing results ignored by the client computing device 102.If a problem develops with the local browse session at the clientcomputing device 102, updated processing results may be provided to theclient computing device 102 from the NCC POP 142 for processing anddisplay in lieu of the local browse session. Illustratively, this switchfrom the local browse session to remote processing may be transparent tothe user. In some embodiments, the client computing device 102 mayswitch from a local browse session to a remote browse session instancebased on factors other than unresponsiveness or failure at the localbrowser. For example, the client computing device 102 or networkcomputing component 107 may select between a remote and local browsesession based on any of the factors enumerated with regards todetermining a remote session browse protocol above

In another embodiment, the client computing device 102 may continue toprocess and display updated processing results from the NCC POP 142 evenafter the local browse session has fully loaded the requested content.The client computing device 102 may terminate the local browse sessionor may run the local browse session in parallel as a backup process inthe converse of the example provided above. It should be appreciatedthat although the local browse session is described here for the purposeof illustration as being slower to load than the remote browse sessioninstance, in some embodiments the local browse session may load thecontent faster than the remote browsing session, in which case thebrowser may process user interactions locally until the remote browseprocess has fully loaded the requested content. In some embodiments, theclient computing device 102 may display and process user interactionsthrough whichever browse session, local or remote, loads the requestedcontent first.

In various other embodiments, the network computing provider 107 mayinstantiate multiple remote browse session instances to run in parallelin addition to or as an alternative to instantiating a local browsesession. Illustratively, these parallel browse session instances mayutilize any of the same or different remote session browse protocols,and may act as backups in the manner described above with regard to alocal browse session, or may be used and switched between asalternatives in order to maximize browser performance at the clientcomputing device 102. For example, in response to one or more browsesession requests, the network computing provider 107 may instantiate abrowse session instance running on a first NCC POP and utilizing an RDPprotocol as well as browse session instance running on a second NCC POPutilizing an X-Windows protocol. The client computing device 102 or thenetwork computing provider 107 may determine which browse sessioninstance and protocol should be used based on performance or resourceusage considerations as described with regards to determining a remotesession browse protocol above.

With continued reference to FIG. 8, at block 818, the network computingprovider 107 may process the obtained content, including the one or morerequested network resources and embedded network resources, according tothe determined remote session browsing configuration to generate aninitial processing result. At block 820, the network computing provider107 may provide the initial processing result to the client for furtherprocessing and display in the content display area of the browser. Forthe purposes of further example, an illustrative client new browsesession interaction routine 1000 implemented by client computing device102 is described below with reference to FIG. 10. At block 822, a testis conduct to determine whether profile information should be updated.If so, at block 824, the network computing provider 107 updates theprofile information. In one embodiment, the network computing provider107 can then update the profile information based on observedperformance associated with requesting and processing the resources. Forexample, the network computing provider 107 can modify or update theprofile information to increase or decrease the number of concurrentconnections that should be maintained with regard to requested resource.In another example, the network computing provider 107 can modify orupdate the optimization information based on performance data. In stillanother example, the network service provider 107 can specify specificprocessing instructions regarding how the client computing device 102interacts with the network service provider 107. At block 826, the startnew browse session routine 800 ends.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrative of a client new browse sessioninteraction routine 900 implemented by client computing device 102. Newbrowse session interaction routine 900 begins at block 902 in responseto an event or user request causing the client computing device 102 toload a browser for viewing network content. At block 904, the clientcomputing device loads locally managed components of the browser,including all local interface components. Illustratively, localinterface components may include toolbars, menus, buttons, or other userinterface controls managed and controlled by the software browserapplication or any other process executing or implemented locally at theclient computing device. At block 906, the client computing device 102provides a request for a new browse session instance to the networkcomputing provider 107. From the perspective of the user of the clientcomputing device, the request for the new browse session corresponds tothe intended request to transmit the request to one or morecorresponding content providers 104. In other embodiment, the newsession request may correspond to a request to load a file or otherdocument (e.g., a request to load an image in a photo-editingapplication, etc.). Illustratively, the request may be generatedautomatically as a result of the browser loading (e.g., a request for adefault or “home” page), or may be generated as a result of a userfollowing a link or entering a network address into an address bar. Asillustrated with respect to FIG. 2, the browse session request istransmitted first to a network computing provider 107. In anillustrative embodiment, the network computing provider 107 utilizes aregistration API to accept browse session requests from the clientcomputing device 102.

A browse session request may include any number of pieces of data orinformation including, but not limited to, information associated with auser, information associated with the client computing device 102 orsoftware on the client computing device (e.g., hardware or softwareinformation, a device physical or logical location, etc.), informationassociated with the network 108, user or browser preferences (e.g., arequested remote session browse protocol, a preference list, a decisiontree, or other information), information associated with the networkcomputing provider 107, information associated with one or more piecesof requested network content (e.g., the network address of a networkresource), etc. For example, a browse session request from the clientcomputing device 102 may include information identifying a particularclient computing device hardware specification or a hardware performancelevel, latency and bandwidth data associated with recent contentrequests, a desired security level for processing different types ofcontent, a predetermined preference list of remote session browseprotocols, and one or more network addresses corresponding to requestednetwork resources, among others. In another example, the browse sessionrequest can include information identifying a client computing device102 screen resolution, aspect ratio, or browser display area in thebrowse session request may allow the network computing provider 107 tocustomize the processing of network content for display on the clientcomputing device. As previously described, the browse session requestcan include network address information corresponding to a requestednetwork resource, which may be in any form including, but not limitedto, an Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, a URL, a Media Access Control(“MAC”) address, etc. In one embodiment, the request for a new browsesession instance may correspond to the network computing providerreceiving a request for a new browse session instance at block 904 ofFIG. 9 above.

At block 908, the client computing device 102 obtains an initialprocessing result from the network computing provider 107.Illustratively, the format and data included in the initial processingresult may vary based on the remote session browsing configurationselected by the network computing provider 107. In one embodiment, theinitial processing result may include or be preceded by data informingthe client computing device 102 of the choice of remote session browsingconfiguration and/or establishing a connection over the remote sessioncommunication protocol corresponding to the selected remote sessionbrowsing configuration. As discussed above with reference to FIGS. 7 and8, the obtained initial processing result may include requested contentwith one or more processing actions performed by the network computingprovider 107. Subsequent to obtaining the initial processing result, theclient computing device 102 may perform any remaining processing actionson the initial processing result at block 910.

At block 912, the client computing device 102 displays the contentcorresponding to the processed initial processing result. In oneembodiment, the processing result may only include display datacorresponding to content displayed by a browser, and may not includedisplay data corresponding to, for example, the interface controls of abrowser instance at the NCC POP 142, the desktop of a virtual machineinstance corresponding to the browse session, or any other userinterface of the NCC POP 142. For example, the NCC POP 142 may process aWeb page and associated content for display via RDP in a browserinstance running in a virtual machine instance at the NCC POP 142. Thebrowser instance may have one or more interface elements such astoolbars, menus, scroll bars, etc., in addition to the displayed Webpage. The NCC POP 142 may send an RDP processing result corresponding tothe displayed Web page only, without any of the interface elementsassociated with the browser. Illustratively, including an RDP processingresult corresponding to the displayed Web page only may allow thebrowser at the client computing instance 102 to display the Web page byassembling the RDP processing result in the content display area of thebrowser without any further processing. In another embodiment, the RDPprocessing result may include a full virtual machine desktop and browserwindow corresponding to the full interface displayed at the NCC POP 142browse session instance. The client computing device may automaticallyidentify the area of the RDP processing result corresponding to therequested content, and may display only this area in the content displayarea of the browser.

At block 914, the client computing device 102 processes local and remoteuser interactions. An illustrative routine for processing userinteractions is provided below with reference to FIG. 10. At block 916the routine ends. Illustratively, a browse session instance instantiatedby the network computing content provider 107 may terminate when abrowser window or content display area is closed, may terminate when aremote session browse protocol is replaced by a parallel process at theclient computing device 102, or may terminate in accordance with a timeror other event. Illustratively, if a browse session has terminatedautomatically due to a time-out but has associated content stilldisplayed in a browser at the client computing device 102, laterattempts by the user to interact with the content may result in a newbrowse session request being provided to the network computing serviceprovider 107 to start a new browse session according to the last stateof the terminated session. Illustratively, terminating a remote browsesession after a time-out may allow the network computing storageprovider 107 to save computing resources at the NCC POP. In oneembodiment, this process may be transparent to the user at clientcomputing device 102, even though the remote browse session has beenterminated during the intervening period.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrative of a process user interactionroutine 1000 implemented by a client computing device 102. Process userinteraction routine 1000 begins at block 1002 in response to aninteraction by a user. Illustratively, process user interaction routine1000 may begin subsequent to the display of content in a content displayarea of a browser interface. For example, process user interactionroutine 1000 may correspond to block 1014 of FIG. 9 above.

Illustratively, the displayed content may have one or more interactiveelements, such as forms, buttons, animations, etc. User interaction withthese interactive elements may require processing and display of updatedcontent in the content display area. For example, selecting an elementin a drop-down menu on a Web page may require processing and may changethe configuration or visual appearance of the Web page or embeddedresources. Illustratively, the processing required by user interactionwith the displayed content may be handled as a local user interaction atthe client computing device 102 or as a remote user interaction at theNCC POP 142 depending on the remote session browsing configuration inuse. For example, if a remote session browsing configuration utilizingsubstantial local processing (e.g., sending unprocessed files overHTML), user interactions with displayed content may typically be handledas local user interactions at the client computing device 102.Illustratively, handling user interactions with displayed content aslocal user interactions at the client computing device 102 may allow forbetter responsiveness and fewer delays with simple user interactions(e.g., selection of a radio button, or typing text into a field), asinteraction data corresponding to the interaction does not need to besent to the NCC POP 142 for processing.

As a further example, if a remote session browsing configurationutilizing heavy remote processing of content (e.g., sending processedbitmap data over RDP) is being used as the remote session browsingconfiguration, all user interactions with displayed content may behandled as remote user interactions. For example, user input (e.g.,keyboard inputs and cursor positions) may be encapsulated in RDPprotocol data units and transmitted across network 108 to the NCC POP142 for processing. Illustratively, the NCC POP 142 may apply the userinteractions to the network content and transmit processing resultsconsisting of updated bitmaps and interface data corresponding to anupdated representation of the content back to the client computingdevice 102. Illustratively, handling user interactions with displayedcontent as remote user interactions at the NCC POP 142 may have anegative impact on interface responsiveness, as data is required to passover the network and is limited by network latency; however, userinteractions that require a substantial amount of processing may performbetter when handled as remote user interactions, as the processinglatency of the NCC POP 142 may be substantially lower than theprocessing latency of the client computing device 102.

In addition to a content display area for displaying network content, abrowser may have one or more local interface components, such astoolbars, menus, buttons, or other user interface controls. Interactionswith local interface components may be treated as local userinteractions or remote user interactions depending on the processingrequired by the interaction and the remote session browsingconfiguration. For example, some local interface components may bemanaged locally by browser code running on the client computing device,while other local interface components may have one or more locallymanaged aspects (e.g., button click feedback, scroll bar redraw, etc.),and one or more remote managed aspects treated as remote userinteractions (e.g., page refresh, requesting a page at an address in anaddress bar, etc.)

At block 1004, the client computing device 102 obtains a userinteraction from the user. This user interaction may be an interactionwith local interface components or may be an interaction with anyinteractive elements of the content displayed in the content displayarea of the browser, such as form fields, buttons, animations, etc. Userinteraction with these local interface components or interactiveelements of displayed content may require local and/or remote processingdepending on the nature of the component or element and the processingsplit specified by the remote session browsing configuration. At block1006, the client computing device 102 determines the interactionprocessing requirements for the obtained user interaction. At decisionblock 1008, if the user interaction has local aspects (e.g., buttonclick feedback, a change to a local browser state, a content elementbeing processed at the client computing device, etc.) the routine 1002moves to block 1010 to process the local aspect or aspects of the userinteraction at the client computing device 102 and subsequently updatethe local interface components at block 1012. Illustratively, and asdiscussed above, aspects of the interaction and updating interfacecomponents and elements locally allows a browser to provide responsiveuser interfaces and content. Subsequent to processing local aspect(s) ofthe user interaction, or if the user interaction has no local elements(e.g., a user interaction with a content element displayed in thecontent display area when using a remote session browsing configurationprocessing entirely on the server side and utilizing an RDP remotesession communication protocol) the routine 1002 moves to decision block1014. If the user interaction has remote aspects that requireprocessing, the routine 1002 moves to block 1016 and provides remoteuser interaction data to the network computing provider 107.Illustratively, in the case of a heavily server side remote sessionbrowsing configuration utilizing an RDP remote session communicationprotocol, the remote user interaction data may include input data suchas a cursor position or keyboard input encapsulated in one or more RDPprotocol data units. In some embodiments of remote session browsingconfigurations utilizing RDP or other remote session communicationprotocols, particular aspects of remote user interaction data such ascursor positions may be provided to the network computing provider 107on a continuous basis, while in other embodiments of remote sessionbrowse configurations remote user interaction data may only be providedto the network computing provider 107 when associated with a userinteraction that requires remote processing.

At block 1018, the client computing device 102 obtains an updatedprocessing result from the network computing provider 107, the networkcomputing provider 107 having processed the remote user interaction datato generate an updated representation of the content. At block 1020, theclient computing device 102 performs any additional processing requiredon the updated processing result (based on the remote session browsingconfiguration) and at block 1022 displays the updated processing resultin the content display area of the browser. At block 1024 the processuser interaction routine 1000 ends. Illustratively, the routine may beexecuted again any number of times in response to further userinteractions with the browser and displayed content.

While illustrative embodiments have been disclosed and discussed, oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that additional oralternative embodiments may be implemented within the spirit and scopeof the present invention. For example, the techniques described hereinmay be utilized, without departing from the scope of the presentinvention, to allow remote processing management in any number of othersoftware applications and processes, including, but not limited to,image or video editing software, database software, office productivitysoftware, 3d design software, audio and sound processing applications,etc. Additionally, although many embodiments have been indicated asillustrative, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that theillustrative embodiments do not need to be combined or implementedtogether. As such, some illustrative embodiments do not need to beutilized or implemented in accordance with scope of variations to thepresent disclosure.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps areincluded or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. It willfurther be appreciated that the data and/or components described abovemay be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory ofthe computing device using a drive mechanism associated with a computerreadable storing the computer executable components such as a CD-ROM,DVD-ROM, or network interface further, the component and/or data can beincluded in a single device or distributed in any manner. Accordingly,general purpose computing devices may be configured to implement theprocesses, algorithms, and methodology of the present disclosure withthe processing and/or execution of the various data and/or componentsdescribed above.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An intermediary computing system including one ormore computing devices, wherein the one or more computing devicesexecute computer-executable instructions that cause the intermediarysystem to at least: receive, from a first computing device a request forcontent from a second computing device; determine, based at least partlyon profile information associated with the content, a number ofconcurrent network connections that will be established with the secondcomputing device; establish the number of concurrent network connectionswith the second computing device; process the request for contentutilizing the concurrent network connections to the second computingdevice that have been established; and transmit, to the first computingdevice, a result of processing the request for the content from thesecond computing device utilizing the concurrent network connections tothe second computing device.
 2. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the profile information specifies a minimum number of concurrentnetwork connections that should be maintained with the content provider.3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the profile informationspecifies a maximum number of concurrent network connections that shouldbe maintained with the content provider.
 4. The system as recited inclaim 1, wherein the profile information specifies an optimal number ofconcurrent network connections that should be maintained with thecontent provider.
 5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein theprofile information corresponds to a combination of a minimum number ofconcurrent network connections that should be maintained with thecontent provider, a maximum number of concurrent network connectionsthat should be maintained with the content provider or an optimal numberof concurrent network connections that should be maintained with thecontent provider.
 6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein theprofile information includes optimization information, the optimizationinformation providing a priority of associated with one or more aspectsof the web page.
 7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions further cause the intermediary systemto update the profile information based on implementation of the profileinformation associated with the web page.
 8. The system as recited inclaim 7, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause theintermediary system to modify the number of concurrent networkconnections based on a measure of performance associated with obtainingthe web page.
 9. A computer-implemented method comprising: obtaining, bya network computing provider comprising one or more server computingdevices, a request for a web page from a client computing deviceseparate from the network content provider; in response to the request,obtaining, by the network computing provider, profile informationcorresponding to the web page, wherein the profile information specifiesa number of concurrent network connections that should be established toobtain content from a content provider of the web page; determining, bythe network computing provider, the number of concurrent networkconnections that will be established to the content provider to obtainthe requested content; establishing, by the network computing provider,the determined number of concurrent network connections to the contentprovider; processing, by the network computing provider, the request forthe web page utilizing the established number of concurrent networkconnections; and transmitting, by the network computing provider, theprocessed request for the web page to the client computing device. 10.The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the profile informationspecifies at least one of a minimum number of concurrent networkconnections that should be maintained with the content provider or amaximum number of concurrent network connections that should bemaintained with the content provider.
 11. The method as recited in claim9, wherein the profile information specifies an optimal number ofconcurrent network connections that should be maintained with thecontent provider.
 12. The method as recited in claim 9, whereinobtaining profile information includes obtaining profile informationfrom at least one of one or more service providers or one or morecontent providers.
 13. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein theprofile information corresponds to a unique profile associated with theweb page.
 14. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the profileinformation corresponds to a unique profile associated with a class ofweb pages.
 15. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the profileinformation corresponds to a combination of a minimum number ofconcurrent network connections that should be maintained with thecontent provider, a maximum number of concurrent network connectionsthat should be maintained with the content provider or an optimal numberof concurrent network connections that should be maintained with thecontent provider.
 16. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein theprofile information includes optimization information, the optimizationinformation providing a priority of associated with one or more aspectsof the web page.
 17. A computer-implemented method comprising:obtaining, by a network computing provider comprising one or more servercomputing devices, a request for a web page; and in response to therequest: obtaining, by the network computing provider, profileinformation, the profile information specifying a number of concurrentnetwork connections that should be established to obtain content from acontent provider of the web page; establishing, by the network computingprovider, a determined number of concurrent network connections to thecontent provider, wherein the determined number of network connectionsis determined, at least in part, on the profile information; processing,by the network computing provider, the request for the web pageutilizing the established number of concurrent network connections tothe content provider; and transmitting, by the network computingprovider, a processed request for the web page, the processed requestcorresponding to an instance of the web page maintained by the networkcomputing provider.
 18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein theprofile information specifies at least one of a minimum number ofconcurrent network connections that should be maintained with thecontent provider or a maximum number of concurrent network connectionsthat should be maintained with the content provider.
 19. The method asrecited in claim 17, wherein the profile information specifies anoptimal number of concurrent network connections that should bemaintained with the content provider.
 20. The method as recited in claim17 further comprising updating the profile information based onperformance information associated with the processed request for theweb page.